


Finding Love in Deceit

by Veralidaine



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Deception, Kings & Queens, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-15
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-12-11 22:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/803812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veralidaine/pseuds/Veralidaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus is sent to seduce Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore's heir, and allow Lord Voldemort to take control of the kingdom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the second Lion King movie, which is probably my favourite Disney movie.

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms sharing the earth. Fortunately, it was not an even split. King Albus Dumbledore ruled the larger half with a kind and fair hand. Buildings were colourful and often lit up while laughter spilled out the windows. In contrast, the smaller kingdom was ruled by Lord Voldemort, a cruel man whose very pores seemed to seep darkness. This darkness was reflected all throughout his kingdom; in the muted colours of buildings, black hoods of passersby not wanting to be noticed, and general gloominess of the inhabitants. 

Although Lord Voldemort rarely strayed from his lavish castle, his minions-the Death Eaters- ran amok in the streets, terrorising innocent people for sport. Due to this treatment that most inhabitants knew all their life, the citizens of the Dark Country grew tough and bitter, often resorting to violence amongst themselves as a way of expressing the anger and frustration that they didn’t dare show in front of the Death Eaters or the Dark Lord.

While King Dumbledore was content to simply defend his kingdom and take in the occasional straggler that was courageous enough to escape the Death eaters’ watchful eyes, Lord Voldemort wanted more. He wanted more land, and he wanted more power. For all that his tyrannical attitude occasionally undermined him however; he was not a stupid man. After a couple failed attempts of overtaking land from the Light Region, he realised that he had to sit back and rethink his plan of attack. So he decided to simply wait and watch, with the help of a few spies of course.

King Albus Dumbledore of the Light Region had a decision to make. He was entering the elderly stage of his life and his lovely wife Minerva had been unable to have children, leaving him without an heir. Albus’ siblings were all deceased but he did have a nephew who had recently married and was expecting a child. Yes, he was sure that the child would be old enough for the throne by the time he would leave this plane but in the incidence that the child was not, he had confidence in his nephew being able to temporarily lead the kingdom until the time that the child was old enough. James and Lily Potter were both lovely people and the wise king had no doubt that their child would be raised with all the morals and values necessary for a good ruler. Having come to a conclusion, Albus stood up from his favourite overstuffed armchair and exited the castle; this was information he felt he had to tell the Potters in person.

By the evening, Lord Voldemort was being told the Light King’s plan by a spy with the name of Peter Pettigrew. With barely a glance, the Dark Lord dismissed the snivelling coward with a flick of the hand and sat back his throne to scheme. So, the good king was giving the title of heir to the unborn child of the Potters. This was possibly the information he was waiting for.

By the time he retired for the evening Lord Voldemort had come up with a suitable plan. Whereas his previous attempts of taking land had been driven by brute force, this was a much subtler approach, relying on a masterful spinning of lies and deceit. Although the Dark Lord had no personal interest in the concept of love, he was certainly aware of the influence it could hold over people. The next evening, Lord Voldemort left the magnificence of his dwelling for the modest estate of the Snape family. It was time for Tobias Snape to pay his debts.

It was business as usual on the Snape property. An eight year old boy with limp black hair, black eyes, and bruises all over his face, neck, and torso, was backhanded across the kitchen by his father. The boy gave a barely audible laugh at the fact that his dear father wasn’t even drunk yet. Having much experience in this particular position, Severus Snape knew that it was better to remain on the floor than to get to his feet. He could hear the sobbing of his mother as she pleaded with Tobias to not hurt him anymore. At his mother’s silence, Severus lifted his head just high enough to look from under his bangs and see his father kissing his mother. He shuddered; it was rough and looked painful for Eileen. Severus watched over and over as Tobias hurt Eileen and then proclaim to love her, often using Severus to blackmail his wife into being intimate with him. If this was love, Severus was quite sure that he could live without it in his life.

Tobias was not happy when the ravaging of his wife was interrupted by knocking on the door. His scowl soon turned to a fake smile upon realising that their evening visitor was none other than the Dark Lord himself.

“I wish to speak with you privately about a matter of...shall we say...business?” His attempted light and silky tone ended up sounding more sinister than anything else. The two proceeded into a side room and shut the door. Severus looked warily at his mother, a question in his eyes. She shrugged, not having any idea what the two men were talking about.

In the room, Tobias was flabbergasted, but not altogether opposed to the Dark Lord’s plan. He had never particularly liked his spawn and now here was a perfect way to get the little shit out of his hair once and for all. He had a moment of regret when he realised that he would no longer have a punching bag around but he supposed if things got bad enough, he could just let loose his anger on his wife.

He made a show of thinking it over but the men both knew that Tobias had no choice. He was too deep in debt to Lord Voldemort and if the Lord ever thought that Tobias would not follow through on those debts, the man would be slaughtered and his property taken. “He’s yours.”

When his father and Lord Voldemort left the room, Severus looked at them out of the corner of his eye, having a bad feeling about what was coming next. Sure enough, his father stomped into the kitchen, grabbed the back of Severus’ shirt and shoved him in the direction of the Dark Lord. “You’re his property now, boy! Follow your new warden to his home.” There was a cry from his mother at the table and she would have stood up if it was not for the restraining hand that suddenly clamped onto her shoulder. Witnessing his mother’s wince, Severus was sure that his father’s grip was far tighter than it needed to be. Though his eyes were wide, the boy dutifully made his way to the front of the house, were Voldemort was waiting to leave, looking much like the cat who caught the canary.

“You will be living with me now, boy.” Severus was certain that Voldemort was trying for a gentle expression but he ended up looking more like a constipated shark.

Soon enough, they had arrived at the castle and Voldemort was showing the dark-haired boy to his rooms. Upon seeing the king-sized bedroom and personal bathroom, Severus felt that he would happily work for the Dark Lord if it meant living in this opulence and never having to feel the sting of his father’s belt again.

The next morning, Severus joined the Dark Lord in an expansive dining hall, as per his request. The awe of the previous night had dimmed and Severus knew that he would probably not like whatever he would be ordered to do. He would deal with it though, just like he’s dealt with everything in his miserable life so far. Once the food was eaten, Voldemort leaned back in his chair and silently observed his charge.

“I suppose you are wondering why I have brought you here.” It was more of a statement than a question and so Severus stayed silent, knowing of the Lord’s penchant for drama. “I have a plan to finally take over the Light Kingdom from that doddering fool, a somewhat subtler approach than we have taken in the past.” The boy bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from commenting on how obvious it should have been that the direct approach wasn’t working. He was sure Voldemort would not thank him for it.

“My spies have told me that a child, soon to be born, will be raised to take over as ruler of the Light Kingdom. I have decided that you shall be trained for the next fifteen years in abilities that will help you to infiltrate the Kingdom and seduce the young heir. It will be a long, arduous journey but it will be worth it when you have influence over the ruler of the Light Kingdom and can facilitate my ascension to power.” The Dark Lord nodded towards two figures that had entered the room. “Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange will be your instructors in these abilities.”

Severus examined the two men. They were the same height but that’s where the similarities stopped. Whereas one was effeminate with blond hair and a very refined air about him, the other was much more masculine and rugged, with black hair, a moustache, and a goatee. The blonde one stepped forward and raked his eyes over the boy. “Hmm, it will take some work but he should do fine.”


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys meet

By the time Harry Potter had reached his eighteenth birthday, he was a kind, spirited young man. Unfortunately, for all the kindness that he had to share, life seemed determined to stomp that light out of him. Fifteen years ago, tragedy had struck and both Lily and James Potter were killed by a marauding bear. Despite his wife’s pleading, King Albus chose to let the boy pass into his Aunt and Uncle’s care. It was important to Albus that the boy not grow up surrounded by riches and so instead, he sent a small but valuable gift to the boy each year. 

Unbeknownst to the good king, the gifts were being hoarded by the Aunt and Uncle, or given to Harry’s cousin, but never did make their way to the young heir. You see, Harry’s relatives were not exactly the good sort. They were incredibly selfish and held absolutely no love for their nephew. According to them, the wretch was lucky that they deigned to let him sleep on the packed earth in front of the fireplace each night instead of out in the rain.

This year was different though, for it was this year that Harry achieved his independence and was able to set out on his own. Of course, it started with him being ejected rather forcefully from his relatives’ home. “And don’t come back!” his uncle shouted, his bulbous face and neck turning purple from the strain.

So it was under these circumstances that Harry found himself going from shop to shop, looking for a job. After being rejected several times-many times quite rudely-he found himself being pushed into a small room in the back of the tavern. The owner, Tom informed the teen that he was to go right to sleep and rise at dawn to start preparing the dining areas for the morning meal.

Over the next fortnight, Harry attacked his new job with gusto and despite a couple incidents due to clumsiness, managed to impress the tavern owner. Now, Tom was an old friend of Albus’ and would often bring mead up to the castle to share with the king, so when he mentioned his new employee by name, Albus was surprised. Although he was at a loss as to why the boy was no longer staying with his relatives, he was also happy to hear how dedicated a worker his heir was. He decided to visit the boy the next day.

The meeting the next day was a shock for both Harry and Albus. Albus discovered that the teen had no knowledge of him or of his gifts, and that his relatives had clearly not given him the care Albus expected of them. Deciding to withhold the information about Harry being his heir, the king explained that Harry’s father had been his nephew and that he would like to provide a home for his kin. The boy stared wide-eyed at the king but eventually nodded shakily, asking if he could keep his job at the tavern. The older man’s eyes twinkled as he answered, “Oh, I’m sure we can work something out.”

The young heir was speechless when he was shown to the bedroom he would be inhabiting in the castle. Harry had never seen anything so spacious and luxurious and was still finding it hard to believe that he was allowed to sleep there.  
It was during a tea being shared by Ablus, Minerva and Harry, that a messenger came to inform the king that there was a young man in the parlour wishing for an audience. “Ah yes,” Albus exclaimed, looking at his ward as he stood and brush stray crumbs off his front, “a king must always be available to his subjects.” Curious, the teen followed Albus into the parlour. Upon their entrance, a dark-haired boy, dressed head-to-toe in black, fell to one knee. Upon closer examination, Harry realised that the man was in a travelling cloak and when he looked up, his dark eyes, prominent nose, and pale skin were immediately noticeable. Not unfortunate looking, Harry decided, but there was certainly something intimidating in that face.

Once the king had seated himself, the man stood and spoke. “Your Majesty,” he started, his voice deep and smooth, “I am here to humbly request your shelter and protection from the dark kingdom. I wish to make a life for myself here, free from Lord Voldemort’s influence.” The king seemed impressed.

“You must be a formidable foe, to have been able to escape the borders unscathed. What is your name, young man?”

“Severus Snape, my lord.” 

Albus nodded, “Very well young Severus, I offer my shelter and protection gladly. Might you have any particular skills?”

“I am an apt hand at alchemy, my lord.”

“Ah! Excellent, Horace has been speaking of his wish to start training a replacement for the apothecary.” At this, Harry decided to speak up.

“I was thinking about heading into the village; perhaps I could show Mr. Snape to the apothecary?”

"Ah yes, thank you m’boy.” The king turned to the newcomer, “This is Harry Potter, my ward.” The man’s eyebrows rose slightly at this but he nodded and followed the teen out the door.

As they walked down the cobbled streets to the village, Harry spoke a bit about the main buildings and their inhabitants. After a few repetitions of ‘Mr. Snape,’ the man leaned over slightly and murmured, “Severus.” The younger man was startled to realise that the man’s voice was rather melodic.

“Oh. Er, sorry?”

“My first name is Severus and you are welcome to call me by it. ‘Mr. Snape’ is my father and not the kind of man I would like to be associated with,” he finished with a grimace.

“Oh, well, okay then,” Harry said, mulling over what Severus could have meant. Soon enough, they reached the apothecary. “Well here it is!” Harry announced. He pointed over his shoulder, “I actually work at the tavern, maybe I’ll see you around?”

Severus fixed the teen with an intense look, “I look forward to it, Harry.” The boy couldn’t help but notice that the man dragged out his name slightly, like he was trying it out. Harry smiled and headed back towards the castle. He had never really had a friend due to his cousin’s meddling, and was looking forward to having somebody to talk to. The newcomer seemed a good sort, if a bit odd.

Unbeknownst to him, intelligent eyes tracked Harry’s movements from behind black bangs. He was incredibly lucky to have his target delivered to him on a silver platter and Severus was certainly not going to let this opportunity go to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half moved kind of quickly but I just wanted to establish some things before getting to the main story.
> 
> Reviews would be much appreciated. I'd love to know what people think of this story so far.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
